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FEMA PUBLIC NOTICE REGARDING DRAFT MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT - PDF attachment link
Interested parties are hereby notified that the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is issuing this public notice as part of its responsibilities under 36 CFR 800, the regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. This notice applies to activities carried out by FEMA's Individual Assistance program implemented under Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5174. A Presidential Disaster Declaration, FEMA-1603-DR-LA, was signed on August 29, 2005, for Hurricane Katrina and on September 24, 2005, for Hurricane Rita (FEMA-1607-DR-LA). Temporary Housing Site OR-154 would have provided emergency housing for disaster victims displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Kingsley House entered into a lease agreement with FEMA to utilize their property as a temporary housing site at City Square 111 in New Orleans (designated OR-154). The proposed action (herein referred to as Undertaking) included developing 4.5 acres and installing approximately 90 travel trailer units on the property. Activities would include, where necessary, site clearing, grading, the placement of utilities (electricity, water, and sewer), and the transport and hook-up of travel trailers to the site. Mechanical excavations conducted within a portion of the Area of Potential Effect (APE) on March 28, 2006 exposed and truncated significant archaeological features. FEMA in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), applied the criteria of adverse effect and determined that a National Register-eligible property had been adversely affected and accordingly ceased excavations at the site. FEMA in consultation with the SHPO and other consulting parties, including the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and the Federally-recognized Native American Tribes, has developed mitigation measures that will focus on the area adversely affected within the area of potential effects. Accordingly, FEMA has developed a Draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to implement treatment measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the undertaking and thereby satisfy FEMA's responsibilities in accordance with Section 106 of the NHPA. Stipulations in the Draft MOA include additional archaeological excavations, backfilling, artifact analysis, historic context development, and report production. The Draft MOA is available for public review at www.crt.state.la.us/culturalassets/fema106/PDF/KingsleyHouseMOA09-20-06DraftFinal.pdf or between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday at the Kingsley House located at:
Kingsley House The public comment period for this action will be open 30 days from June 5 to July 5, 2007. To comment on the Draft MOA, visit the above website. In addition, written comments can be faxed to FEMA's Transitional Recovery Office in New Orleans at (504) 762-2888 or by regular mail to:
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